9781422288344

Chapter One

Real-Life Stories

W e’ve all wanted to fit in with a group of people. Maybe you’ve moved to a new town, and you want to make new friends. Or maybe you want to be part of the “cool” group at school. Or you just started playing on a sports team, and you want to prove you’re a good athlete. Many people have felt the need to fit in. That need is sometimes called peer pressure. Wanting to fit in is natural. No one wants to feel left out all the time. But sometimes wanting to fit in can make you act in ways you don’t really want. You may do something dangerous or something you’re uncomfortable doing just to fit in. Peer pressure makes you do something you normally wouldn’t do to be part of a group. Your peers are the people around you who are most like you. They’re your “group.” They are usually your own age. You go to school with them. And you probably spend time with them outside school. One young woman shared her story online on a site called Eduguide (www.eduguide.org). She says, “In eighth grade, I became best friends with this girl named Jenny. She seemed like she would be a very good friend. I guess that’s when I learned that you should never judge a book by its cover. “I soon learned that she was the exact opposite of a good friend. She would put me down, say mean things about me to other people, and toward the end of our friendship, she would go out

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